Saturday, 12 February 2011

Five Outfits From The 70's..

Five outfits my mum chose for me in the 70's. And then she made me wear them.

A fetching towelling shorts and top set sewn from a pair of bathroom curtains (no photos)

Outgrown trousers altered with bigger hems in a contrasting colour and cunning apple shaped patches over the holes in the knees (no photos)

One of her old swimsuits. To a school swimming class. All I'm going to say is that we aren't, and never have been, anywhere near the same shape or size (definitely no photos)

Identical sister outfits. If she made one for me, she made one for my sister (possible photos but need to check with my sister first)

Blue fleece dressing gown hand decorated with tartan fur in a little Bay City Rollers homage. Alright, that one was my idea. made to my own personal specifications. (actually do wish I had a photo of this one)

25 comments:

I think the pictures you have planted in my mind are probably even better than photos!Matching sister outfits are better than matching 'little girl and her doll' outfits. My Nan always made my dolls a matching jumper from leftover wool when she knitted anything for me.

what a wonderful memory trigger. I too had trousers with an added hem to make them longer - also cuffs on a jacket to make the sleeves longer. And several outfits where the same pattern was used for me and my sister, but different colours. My Grandmother usually gave Mum 2 pieces of fabric at christmas for 2 dresses - my sister's was in blue and mine in yellow or green.

This reminds me so much of my own childhood...my mum made nearly all our clothes....some were just perfect....others worn with gritted teeth!! At least with having brothers....we were never dressed identically!!

They all sounded amazing! Making clothes back then was much more common place, and there wasn't a huge choice in the shops anyway. I had a series of dresses made from very scratchy woollen suit material - the thought of them still makes me itch now!

lol!! it was the same for me, towelling shorts and top - i never asked what they were made from!!! and being the eldest of three sisters we all had matching dresses. The only time i actually liked my mum mking my clothes was when rar-rar skirts came into fashion. I had all versions and remember hagling with mum about the length - the shorter the better!! oh happy memories! great to read yours Sian xx

I also had the pants with lengthened hems and patches! But I am grateful I was the oldest because we handed everything down to younger children! We had some striped tee tops from Sears that were worn by both the girls and boys in our family and went through four kids before they were retired!

haha...what a fun little list. My sister and I had the same situation in the early days when my mom sewed all of our clothes. We matched all the time. Love this little walk down memory lane. Thanks, Sian! xo

hee hee Loved this post! I can so vividly see these outfits in my mind! Gotta love those 70's fashions! I was a major Bay City Rollers fan and I'm sure I would have been quite envious of your snazzy dressing gown! :)

Snap - not the exact outfits, but definitely the home-made clothes: initially made by my Mum and from the age of about 13/14 made by me. At least I had some control over the material and fit then! I had great plans to make clothes for my toddlers, but somehow this only lasted a couple of years with my first and only extended to fancy dress for the last!

Oh me too! My mum made me a pale yellow skirt with a detachable bib (which I liked), a Pink dress, with contrasting section in the bodice and lace trim (ikkkk, I hated pink!), a hand-knitted Fair Isle patterned cardigan (which I also loved). My sister and I had matching clothes too - jeans with applique design at the ankle, striped sweaters - hers red, mine blue - and yes, there are photos somewhere... My auntie sent me some clothes she had made - a brown and white gingham dress with a ruffle cap-sleeve (loved it), a bright green polyester/crimplene trouser and dress suit (which I loved and my mother hated - I was not allowed to keep it!), I think she also sent the striped sweaters - she had two older daughters and was very trendy (my mum was Not trendy - when I was a teen, I had to beg for fashionable clothes and even then she bought the "posh shop" versions, which would "wear" and could be passed down to my long-suffering younger sister!!) I also made myself some clothes, in school sewing lessons. My mum bought me the school-recommended pattern, but the fabric was a violent, bright, day-glo yellow!!! She also bought pink checked flannelette for a night dress!!! I made sure I went with her after that, to supervise. We made our own blouses or dresses for summer, in 5th form - light blue poplin and mid-blue poplin... I made one dress and then wore my white winter shirts, so I could keep the darker blue for a trendy gypsy skirt, with ribbons stitched to each flounce!

My mum went through a phase of buying brightly patterned (70s most definitely) TABLECLOTHS - both round and square - and cutting the middles out to make kaftan tops for me. I HATED them but boy I wish I had one now :)

Funny how there isn't any photographic evidence eh Sian? I'm just glad that I wasn't old enough to get married in the 70's, imagine the photos! The 80's was bad enough, My dress wa ok as I went traditional but oh the poor bridesmaids....Bo Peep and peach satin come into the equation.

I love the way you describe your memories - no need for photos when your words are so great! My sister and I were also dressed in the same clothes, although normally I would be in blue and she would be in pink!

Oh my, does this make me shiver! I don't like to think of the outfits I had to wear: from the nylon trousers with an elastic strap under the foot when everyone else was in jeans, to the liberty print dresses with the frilly collars she was still making for me in my thirties. Lots of love, some inability to let go, but arrrgh!